Tag: Artemis 2
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NASA studying practice rendezvous options for Artemis 2 Orion
NASA is studying the addition of an Orion rendezvous demonstration to the Artemis 2 test flight to reduce overall mission risks to the subsequent Artemis 3 lunar landing from first-time operations. The Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) is working with its Artemis Programs to evaluate some of the trade-offs from a range of…
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NASA will likely add a rendezvous test to the first piloted Orion space mission
Artist’s illustration of an Orion spacecraft with the upper stage of its Space Launch System rocket firing its RL10 engine. Credit: NASA Astronauts will likely perform a previously-unplanned demonstration of the Orion spacecraft’s deep space rendezvous capabilities in a high-altitude orbit around Earth on the crew capsule’s first piloted test flight, now scheduled for 2023.…
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Prior to workplace closures, SLS was making good progress ahead of opening missions
Prior to the shut down of work last month in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Program was working towards milestones for its first two launches. At Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, Core Stage prime contractor Boeing was getting ready to do powered checkouts of the first flight…
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OIG leans on NASA to avoid the mistakes of ML-1 with SLS’s second Mobile Launcher
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has published an extensive report on NASA’s use of two Mobile Launchers for its Space Launch System (SLS). With the completed Mobile Launcher -1 (ML-1) way over cost and schedule, the OIG has called on NASA to implement several recommendations for the construction of the second Mobile Launcher (ML-2)…
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NASA inspector general says SLS moon rocket costs continue to climb
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Artist’s concept of the Space Launch System Block 1 variant. Credit: NASA The powerful Space Launch System rocket being built for NASA’s Artemis moon program by Boeing, using solid-propellant boosters from Northrop Grumman and main engines from Aerojet Rocketdyne, will have cost more than $18 billion by the…
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Trump administration requests funding boost for NASA’s Artemis moon program
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION Artist’s illustration of astronauts on the moon. Credit: NASA The Trump administration is requesting $25.2 billion for NASA in fiscal 2021, a 12 percent increase that includes $3.3 billion to kickstart development of a human-rated lander for the Artemis moon program. Nearly half of the budget request, $12.3…
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Boeing negotiating with NASA on future SLS Core Stage production
Now that the first of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stages has shipped from the factory, prime contractor Boeing is refining production plans for the second flight article and continuing negotiations with the civilian space agency for future production. The production team at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans is applying lessons…
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Boeing assembling structures for NASA’s second SLS Core Stage
At mid-year prime contractor Boeing was progressing through structural assembly of the second NASA Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. Completing final assembly of the first flight article remains the priority, but getting the next stage unit completed is likely to be a driver of the…
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NASA boss pleads for funding to ensure 2024 moon landing
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine testifies to lawmakers Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told a Senate panel Wednesday that a budget impasse and subsequent spending freeze later this year would be “devastating” to the agency’s goal of sending the first woman and next…